25 questions to ask before signing with a marketing agency in the UAE

Hiring a digital marketing agency is a decision you usually make once a year at most, based on a pitch designed to impress you. The questions below are designed to get past the pitch. Ask them in the meeting, listen for specific answers, and write the answers down; they become the basis of your contract.

They are grouped by theme so you can pick the ones that matter for your situation. If you are still deciding between agency types, read how to choose a digital marketing agency in Dubai first.

About the team

1. Who will actually work on my account?

Ask for names and roles: account manager, content lead, Arabic writer, media buyer, videographer. Some agencies sell with senior people and deliver with juniors or an outsourced team abroad. You are entitled to know.

Good answer: named people, where they are based, how much of their time you get. Bad answer: "our team" with no names.

2. Who writes the Arabic, and do they write or translate?

If your customers are Arabic-first, this decides whether your content feels local. Ask to see Arabic reels and captions the same writer produced.

3. How many accounts does my account manager handle?

There is no perfect number, but an account manager with 20 clients cannot give you weekly attention. Ten or fewer is common at agencies that do it well.

4. Can I speak to two current clients in a similar business?

References, together with a sector-sorted portfolio, are the fastest way to learn how the agency behaves after the contract is signed. Ask the reference about responsiveness, reporting and what went wrong.

5. Do you shoot on location, and how often?

In the UAE, content shot at your premises is what performs. Confirm the shoot cadence, whether travel between emirates is included, and what happens if you have multiple branches.

About the plan

6. What would you do in the first 30 days, specifically?

You want a sequence: audit, tracking set-up, strategy, first shoot, first campaigns. Vague "we will get to know your brand" answers mean no process.

7. What have you done for a business like mine, and what did they spend?

Results without budgets are meaningless. An agency that has worked in your sector will tell you the range of spend and the cost per result they typically see.

8. Which platforms would you not use for me, and why?

An agency that recommends every platform is selling scope. A thoughtful one will tell you that Snapchat matters for young Emirati audiences but not for your B2B firm, or that LinkedIn is a waste for your cafe.

9. How do you handle Ramadan, summer and the Q4 season?

The UAE calendar shapes performance: Ramadan changes timing and messaging, summer thins the audience, and National Day through year-end is peak for retail and hospitality. A local agency plans campaigns two months ahead of each.

10. What do you need from me to succeed?

The honest answer includes approvals within a set time, real numbers on leads and sales, access to your team for shoots, and fast replies to customers. If they say "nothing, we handle everything", they have not thought about it.

About advertising

11. Who owns the ad accounts, pages and Business Manager?

Non-negotiable: your business owns them; the agency gets partner access. If the agency insists on running ads from its own accounts, walk away, whatever the reason given.

12. How are fees and media budgets separated?

You should pay the platforms directly and see the platform invoices. Fees for management are separate: flat, percentage of spend, or hybrid. Ask what happens to the fee if you pause ads for a month.

13. How will you track leads that come through WhatsApp, calls and walk-ins?

Most UAE leads arrive on WhatsApp. Ask how they attribute a WhatsApp conversation to a Meta campaign, how they track calls, and what they do about walk-ins who saw an ad.

14. What cost per lead or cost per sale should I expect, and how did you arrive at that?

They should give a range with the assumptions behind it, based on similar accounts. A precise promise is a red flag; a refusal to estimate at all is also a concern.

15. How often do you refresh ad creatives?

Ad performance in this market decays quickly without new video. Ask how many new creatives per month are included and who produces them.

About content and ownership

16. Exactly how many reels, posts and stories per month, and how many revision rounds?

Get the numbers in writing. Two revision rounds is standard. Ask what happens if you need more and how quickly content is turned around after a shoot.

17. Who owns the content, and do I get the raw files?

Typical terms transfer ownership of delivered content on full payment, with raw files staying with the studio unless agreed otherwise (that is Silk Road's standard, for example). Ask about usage in paid ads, on your website and after the contract ends.

18. How do you handle regulated content in my sector?

Medical, financial, food, real estate and influencer marketing all carry UAE rules. The agency should know the current constraints and have an approval process. Ask them to check the current rule rather than assert it.

19. Do you work with creators or influencers, and how are they selected and paid?

Ask whether creator content is included or separate, how creators are vetted, and how permits and disclosures are handled. Silk Road runs a vetted creator community for UGC; other agencies broker one-off deals. Neither is wrong, but you should know which you are buying.

About reporting

20. Can I see a sample monthly report?

The single most revealing request. A good report leads with leads, sales and cost per result, shows what was tested and what changes next. A bad report leads with reach and likes.

21. How often will we meet, and who will be there?

Monthly review at minimum, with the account manager and ideally the media buyer or content lead. Weekly check-ins during the first quarter are common.

22. What happens when a month goes badly?

You want to hear a process: diagnose, test, adjust, report honestly. You do not want to hear that it never happens.

About money and the contract

23. What is the total monthly cost including VAT, tools and any extras?

Get one number for fees, one for expected media, and confirmation of whether 5% VAT applies and whether tools, travel or usage rights are extra. For typical ranges, see the UAE price guide.

24. What are the contract length, notice period and exit terms?

Three months is a fair first term; quarterly plans are often discounted. After that, reasonable notice (30 days is common) and clarity on what is non-refundable once production starts.

25. If we part ways, what do I walk away with?

Accounts, content, reports, tracking set-up and passwords should all be yours. Ask for a handover process in writing.

Reading the answers

Score the meeting, not the deck:

For a broader picture of what you should expect month to month, read what a digital marketing agency actually does. And if freelancers are on your shortlist too, the same questions apply with small adjustments; see agency vs freelancer in Dubai.

A printable checklist

• [ ] Named team and Arabic writer confirmed
• [ ] 30-day plan received
• [ ] Sector examples with spend and cost per result
• [ ] Platforms they would not use, and why
• [ ] Accounts owned by my business
• [ ] Fees and media separated; VAT and extras clear
• [ ] WhatsApp and call tracking explained
• [ ] Deliverable counts and revision rounds in writing
• [ ] Content ownership and raw files agreed
• [ ] Sample report reviewed and leads with business metrics
• [ ] Meeting cadence agreed
• [ ] Three-month first term, notice period and handover in the contract

We are happy to answer all 25 of these about Silk Road before you sign anything; see our packages for the scope and terms we publish, or message the team and ask away.